Forge
Characteristics *Height- 6'0" *Weight- 179 lbs *Eyes- Brown *Hair- Black *Citizenship- Native American Character Biography Early years Forge is a mutant with an innate superhuman talent for invention - an intuitive genius, it is as natural as breathing for him. He is a Native American of the Cheyenne nation. Although he was trained as a medicine man, he has primarily relied upon technology rather than mysticism to accomplish his tasks. This rift between Forge and his elder teacher, Naze, made Forge leave his past behind and join the military. While in the army, Forge became a good soldier and served in the Vietnam War. After rising in the ranks to become a sergeant, he was asked by S.H.I.E.L.D. to join. Forge declined, because he saw his need was in Vietnam. During his second tour of duty in the war, his commander was killed by enemy troops; in anger, he used their spirits to summon a band of demons to destroy the opposition. Forge, concerned about his former comrades, decided to order a B-52 bombing on his position to close the portal from the world of the unliving. The bombs came down destroying the spirits. This action wasn't without a heavy price, as Forge lost his right leg and right hand. This action allowed the demon called the Adversary to come to Earth and Forge has since been hesitant to employ his mystical abilities. Years later, Forge had created cybernetic replacements for his lost limbs. When Tony Stark stopped making advanced weaponry for the Federal government, Forge was hired as an employee of the Defense Department. One of his earliest commissions was to design a weapon to detect the shape-shifting aliens, known as the Dire Wraiths. Subsequently, Forge constructed a device capable of neutralizing mutant powers. Following orders from the President, Henry Peter Gyrich, an agent of the National Security Council, took the device. Forge protested because the device was untested and it was extremely dangerous to use. The device was to be used against a member of the X-Men, named Rogue, who was wanted for allegedly killing a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. However, the device instead removed the powers of her teammate, Storm. Romance Forge rescued Storm, after she fell into a river. Forge brought her back to his home, in Dallas, Texas. During her stay, Storm began to have a romantic connection with Forge. Yet, Storm began to hold Forge in contempt, when she found out he was the reason she lost her abilities. Storm left and rejoined the X-Men. Storm later returned to Forge, to help him fight the Dire Wraiths. The Dire Wraiths resurfaced to prevent Forge from perfecting his neutralizer and they were defeated by the combined forces of the X-Men, Magik and Amanda Sefton. Forge later improved his Neutralizer, against the Wraiths. Yet, he became hesitant to design more devices like it because of what happened with Storm. With the help of the Wraiths' enemy, Rom the Spaceknight, Forge was able to create a large scale version of the neutralizer in Earth's orbit. Rom and Forge used the device on the Wraith's home-world, casting the entire race into the other-dimensional Limbo. After saving the world, Forge destroyed all remaining Neutralizers and focused on ridding the Earth of the Adversary once and for all. The Adversary had other plans though and in the shape of Naze convinced Storm that Forge had gone insane with grief after she left and was planning to open a gate to hell. Storm tried to kill Forge, but the moment she stabbed him she saw that he was sane and that she had been tricked. The Adversary banished Storm and Forge to another dimension, devoid of human life. Storm and Forge spent an unknown amount of time there, rekindling their romance. Finally they decided to return to Earth to stop the Adversary. Forge restored Storm's abilities and used her abilities to power a gate back home. X-Men Forge and Storm arrived on Earth and joined the X-Men in their battle with the Adversary. In the X-Men's final battle with the Adversary, Forge was required to sacrifice nine willing lives to banish the Adversary forever; eight X-Men and Madelyne Pryor volunteered and died in the casting of Forge's spell. However, the goddess Roma intervened and secretly restored the X-Men to life. Seeing Forge responsible for the death of her brother, Forge battled Magik using his knowledge of Native-American sorcery. Feeling guilty over his involvement, Forge allowed Magik to stab him with her Soulsword in the hopes it would kill him. Instead its effects caused both mutants to come to terms with their shortcomings. Destiny Forge, unaware of their resurrection, found himself fighting alongside Mystique's Freedom Force and an interim team of "X-Men" against the Reavers at Muir Island. He was essential in winning the battle, having used his mutant skills to create a rifle that deactivated the cyborg enemy 'Skullbuster' and forced the rest of the Reavers to retreat. During this battle, Destiny was killed, but not before foreseeing that Forge and Mystique would one day love one another, a fact that both parties found implausible. Afterward, Mystique blamed him for Destiny's death. Banshee approached Forge, hunting for leads about the whereabouts of the X-Men. Forge was convinced by visions that all the X-Men were still alive. During this time, his days as a soldier in the Vietnam War were depicted. The two of them traveled all over the world looking for their missing friends. Forge and Banshee eventually found the X-Men and became full time members. They fought against several threats, such as Genoshan soldiers, Skrulls and the Shadow King. The fight against the Skrulls was Forge's first trip into outer space. Forge's skills were critical in defeating Cameron Hodge and overthrowing the Genoshan government. His plans were kept deep inside his own mind by a self-induced trance that even the forced removal of his false limbs did not break. Forge later became a member of the X-Mansion's "support team". He was responsible for redesigning the Danger Room and the Blackbird jet. End of romance With the arrival of Bishop and Storm's constant involvement with the team, Forge and Storm's relationship became rocky. Forge came to eventually leave the X-Men, when he believed that Storm would've rejected his proposal of marriage. Ironically, she would have said yes. The pair continued to have an on-again-off-again relationship, until it ended for good. Forge went back home to Dallas to become a government contractor again and to help with the mental care of Mystique, who was becoming schizophrenic. During her stay, Forge and Mystique grew closer and had an affair. X-Factor Forge went on to replace Valerie Cooper as the new government liaison for the mutant superhero team X-Factor. Forge went on his second cosmic adventure while with X-Factor, venturing to the far side of the sun with dozens of other superheroes in the incident known as the Infinity Crusade. Forge was personally affected as one of his team, Wolfsbane, has been kidnapped by the villain called the Goddess. The adventure was very anticlimactic for Forge, as he ended up orbiting a duplicate Earth in an escape pod, along with the vigilante Nomad. He did wish to fight but his pod was needed as part of a communications chain. When the team began to experience personal problems, Forge took a more active involvement, gradually taking over the leadership of the remaining members of X-Factor. In this context, he saw the mutant criminals Mystique and Sabretooth forced to become unwilling members of his team. Forge also came to terms with his heritage when the Adversary returned. With Naze's assistance, Forge was able to defeat the Adversary by combining technology created using his mutant powers with his mystical abilities. Under Forge's leadership, X-Factor was tricked into hunting and battling former team member Multiple Man. Following this, Forge severed the team's involvement with the government and led them underground. Forge and Mystique became more attracted to one another while working together as members of the team, with Forge ultimately falling in love with Mystique. During their time underground, another former X-Factor member, Strong Guy, awoke from a coma that he had suffered due to his powers over-stressing on his heart. Forge created a device which saved Strong Guy's life. Along with the other team members, Forge was severely injured after Sabretooth betrayed and attacked the team. Mystique's feelings for Forge did not prevent her from escaping her forced membership while Forge was recuperating. After recovering from his injuries, Forge refused to become a member of a new X-Factor line-up led by former team leader Havok, as he felt that Havok was no longer trustworthy. This new version of X-Factor was disbanded shortly thereafter. For a time, Forge was not active on any mutant groups, though he briefly worked as support staff at the X-Men's mansion. Xavier's Underground Forge later took part in Xavier's Underground movement. He worked with a former X-Factor member, Multiple Man, in Genosha. Afterwards, Forge returned to the X-Men and became a mentor to Danielle Moonstar, for a brief stint. Recently, Charles Xavier asked him for help in locating Mystique whom he needed for a clandestine mission. Forge also helped Cannonball and Siryn find Cable with the aid of Deadpool and built a pair of special gauntlets for New X-Men team member Surge; afterward, he returned to his lab to build a Nimrod unit with the primary objective of protecting mutants and secondary objective of protecting humans. He then encountered a time-traveling Nimrod suffering from severe damage, demanding that Forge fix him; this version of Nimrod came from an alternate future, and had compelled an alternate version of Forge (married to Storm, with two children) to build a device to allow it to travel to the past. The alternate Forge had seemingly complied, but actually built a device to send Nimrod not only back in time, but also to another timeline, and to disable him upon arrival. Nimrod threatened to harm this reality's Storm, and Forge offered to transfer Nimrod into his own version of the Sentinel, which Nimrod agreed to. The transfer was interrupted by the arrival of Surge and the rest of the New X-Men, who had received Forge's distress call through Surge's own gauntlets; in the ensuing battle, Forge helped them defeat Nimrod. Messiah Complex After Forge sends Madrox and Layla to the future, he goes on a mission at Cyclops' behest to rendezvous with the other X-Men, who are on their way to confront Sinister's forces. He is shot by a seemingly treacherous Bishop. He is then seen in the recovery room along with other injured X-Men. Divided We Stand Forge has not been the same since Bishop attacked him during his mad quest to murder the first mutant child following M-Day. Forge suffered an array of injuries including serious head trauma. Bishop stole several time travel devices that Forge was reverse engineering. Throughout his recovery, Forge has been obsessed with recreating his notes and research on these devices. Fixated to an unhealthy degree on this project, Forge shuts himself off in his home at Eagle Plaza to devote all his time to this work. But before he begins, he enhances his home’s defense systems to ensure that he never falls victim to such an attack again. Cable and X-Force Forge is revealed to have survived the destruction of his complex. He is found by Cable who uses his telepathy to create a scenario which allows Forge to see his brain as a machine. Using his intuitive genius, Forge repaired the "machine" thus curing himself of his insanity. When he awoke, he was greeted by an injured Cable who asked for his help. Powers and Abilities Powers Intuitive Genius: Forge is a mutant with a superhuman intuitive talent for inventing mechanical devices. His mutant ability functions as perception, as he possesses the ability to visually perceive "mechanical energy" (the kinetic energy and potential energy present in the components of mechanical systems) in action. This power allows Forge to instinctively know and understand the potential and functional operations of any machine or technological device in his visual range, a skill that combined with his natural intelligence allows him to conceive, design and build mechanical devices; and operate, modify and disassemble existing technology or create countermeasures for it. Forge's superhuman talent does not mean that he is a greater inventor than geniuses such as Reed Richards, Victor von Doom, or Anthony Stark, none of whom owe their talent for invention to mutation. But even a genius at invention must for the most part consciously work out the theoretical principles behind the invention and then the design of the invention itself through a series of logical steps. In Forge's case, however, many of these logical steps would be worked out by his subconscious mind. Hence, Forge himself might not be entirely aware of exactly how he figured out how to create an invention of his. He has created fantastic futuristic devices including cybernetic systems (to replace his lost hand and leg), sophisticated holograms, and elaborate computer and fiberoptic systems. Sorcery: He also has a high mystical aptitude and has developed several magical spells, including a so-called "spirit sight," the ability to open portals to other dimensions, and the ability to steal and use others' souls to enhance his mystical spells. For the most part he has not used these abilities in years, and hence is out of practice in wielding them. Abilities Forge is an accomplished athlete and trained soldier. Expertise in many areas of science and technology, extensive knowledge of Native American magic. Strength level Forge possesses the normal human strength of a man of his age, height, and build who engages in moderate regular exercise. Paraphernalia Equipment Forge's right leg is cybernetic, a replacement he created for his original leg, which was lost during combat operations in Vietnam. It contains various devices which he has used in emergencies. He has also harvested it for parts. Transportation Forge has constructed and piloted several aerial vehicles. Weapons Forge sometimes employs devices of his own invention. Most notable among these was his neutralizer gun that could suppress superhuman mutant abilities. The only known examples of this device have been destroyed. In other Media Television *Forge guest starred in a few episodes of the X-Men animated series. He is unique in that he has two separate roles in the show: in the present, he is the leader of the government-run X-Factor, and in the future, he leads the mutant team that resists the Sentinels in the Days of Future Past timeline. He was voiced by Marc Strange. *Forge also guest starred in two episodes of the X-Men Evolution animated series: Middleverse and Shadow Dance. This version of Forge was a teenager who talked and dressed like he had been stuck in time since the 1970s, because that's exactly what happened — one of Forge's inventions had backfired and kept him stuck in a pocket dimension for over twenty years. In this series, Forge had the ability to turn one of his hands into a multi-tooled robotic device — possibly corresponding to the comic versions' prosthetic hand. He is voiced by Samuel Vincent. *Forge appears in Wolverine and the X-Men voiced by Roger Craig Smith. He continues to be the X-Men's engineer, working closely alongside Beast. However, in this series, he is portrayed as being much younger, and a tad scatter-brained, feeling at times overwhelmed by Wolverine's constant and ever shifting demands. He also wishes that the X-Men would take better care of his inventions, particularly the Blackbird which they usually take out and wreck shortly after he finishes putting it back together. Forge doesn't generally go on missions with the rest of the team, except in rare occasions where he must study or repair technology that cannot be brought back to his lab. He accompanies the revived team to Genosha in the third episode, rebuilding the X-Jet while on route. His first field op was to accompany the team to Trask Industries to find information on Master Mold, a role he prepared for by painting camouflage on his face and wearing a tactical vest. Upon discovery that Trask had cleaned house and moved to another location, and depressed that he is seemingly now not needed, Forge was comforted by Kitty telling him that there would be other missions for him to do "whatever it is he does". Forge later got to do his field work, going with Wolverine, Nightcrawler, and Emma Frost to rescue Cyclops and Jean Grey. Equipped with an arm-mounted laser blaster, he freed Cyclops from his restraints, which allowed them to escape. Video games *He was a playable character in the X-Men: Mutant Academy 2 and the X-Men: Next Dimension video games. Forge plays a pivotal role in X-Men: Next Dimension; he is kidnapped by Bastion in order to extract the designs for a weapon that can depower mutants from his mind and install it into the Sentinels. *He also has an appearance as a Non-playable character in the video games X-Men Legends and X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, played by Lou Diamond Phillips. In both games he sells equipment to party-members (taking the place of Beast in the second game). In the trivia mini-games, his relationship with Storm is mentioned; as well, it is stated that his abilities are inventing new technology and mystic powers. *Forge appears as a non-playable character in the DOS game X-Men II: The Fall of the Mutants. In the game, he and Storm are captured by the Adversary, and can be seen tied in the final stage. *Forge appears in the endings of Storm in the Capcom fighting games X-Men: Children of the Atom and X-Men vs. Street Fighter. *In Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Storm mentions that Forge caught Weasel in the X-Jet Hangar if you speak to her in Valhalla. *In X-Men: Reign of Apocalypse, Forge was the creator of the alternate dimension's warp gate, and gives the self-destruct codes to X-Men. The alternate universe counterpart calls himself Genesis. Forge Category:Mutants Category:X-Men Category:Living Category:X-Force Category:Mutant Resistance Category:Exiles Category:198 Category:X-Factor Category:Male Characters Category:Krakoans